2 Kerala youths from Kollam & Malappuram drown in Arunachal's frozen Sela lake, bodies retrieved
The incident occurred in the afternoon when one member of the group slipped into the frozen lake and began to drown.
The incident occurred in the afternoon when one member of the group slipped into the frozen lake and began to drown.
The incident occurred in the afternoon when one member of the group slipped into the frozen lake and began to drown.
Itanagar: Two Kerala youths, who were part of a seven-member tourist group, drowned in the frozen Sela Lake in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district on Friday. The deceased were identified as Binu Prakash, 24, from Kollam and Madhav G, 26, a resident of Malappuram. Binu's body was recovered on Friday night. The authorities found Madhav's body on Saturday morning after an hours-long search.
Mathew Philip, an official with the Tawang District Administration, told Onmanorama that the bodies have been shifted to the Community Health Centre, Jang, for post-mortem examination. "The District Collector has directed the transport of the mortal remains to Guwahati, and from there, the bodies will be flown to Kerala by flight. The accident happened at an isolated, high-altitude site. The lake was frozen. One of them walked over the frozen waterbody, talking on the phone. The ice cracked and he slipped through the crack into the water. Five others jumped in to rescue him. Two of them went missing while the other three were rescued. The bodies were retrieved later," said Philip.
Extreme weather conditions made the search operations extremely difficult. Initial search using a boat yielded no results, a hook was dragged across the water body, and the cloth got stuck, following which Madhav's body was retrieved.
The youths were on their way to Tawang when they halted near the lake to click pictures. The other members of the group were taken to the hospital by the Army personnel.
“They had booked a minibus and were travelling together. They had started their journey from Guwahati. At Sela, they stopped for sightseeing, during which the tragic incident took place,” Superintendent of Police D W Thongon told Arunachal Times.
Thongon said the administration received information about the incident around 3 pm, following which a joint rescue operation was launched by the district police, central forces and the State Disaster Response Force.
Despite difficult weather conditions and poor visibility, one body was recovered. Police said warning signboards have been installed at Sela Lake and other tourist spots, advising visitors not to walk on frozen lakes. The district administration had also issued an advisory in December, cautioning tourists that frozen water bodies are unsafe as the ice may be unstable and unable to bear human weight. Located at an altitude of over 13,000 feet, Sela Lake is a popular tourist destination but poses serious risks during winter due to extreme cold and fragile ice cover.